Warning: This article contains spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is out there in the world, officially kicking off Phase Five in the process, and it’s fair to say that many are viewing it as a huge disappointment. For one thing, it arguably failed to live up to the promise of its own promotion as we were presented with a high-stakes adventure possessing a much darker tone than the previous Ant-Man films in which all bets were off… And we ended up getting a movie that showed us M.O.D.O.K.’s bare backside.
Reddit rewriters have put their heads together, then, to devise what they think a superior ending to Quantumania would’ve been, one that would’ve allowed it to be the shocking and thrilling MCU entry we were all anticipating. And, well, it’s super-dark. Not quite Avengers: Infinity War levels, but it still would’ve been a ballsy way to end the Ant-Man trilogy.
As first pitched by user u/jacquesrabbit, fans think that maybe Ant-Man 3 should have stuck with the tragic direction it initially seemed to be teasing in its third act, that Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) become trapped in the Quantum Realm after defeating Kang and sending their loved ones back to Earth.
U/300SinsandSpartans agreed, arguing that it would’ve been a much stronger dramatic denouement: “Honestly, I was thinking and hoping for the same thing. An appropriate and poetic foil to Janet and Hank’s experience and their relationship. And plus, I feel that it would have been a better fulfillment of Scott’s words,” I don’t have to win. We both just have to lose.”
Jacquesrabbit further stressed that Scott sacrificing his own life on Earth for the sake of his daughter would’ve been a better culmination of his arc (not to mention evoking Iron Man’s own end): “Fits Scott’s arc better. Scott’s arc has always been about Cassie. And after Endgame, well, Cassie hinted that he was not doing much. He became a best selling author, but he stopped his super hero days. So, when he saved Cassie to trap Kang, pretty much sacrificing himself for Cassie, that made for a better story.”
Given that we were all convinced that Kang will going to kill Scott in this one (not, you know, get beaten by a bunch of ants), having Scott and Hope get lost in the Quantum Realm — like mother like daughter, huh? — certainly would’ve hit a lot harder. On the other hand, at least the ending we got means there’s hope for Ant-Man and the Wasp to return in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.